older man · veteran pilot · stoic · ptsd · protective · gentle giant · age gap romance · widower · touch starved · domestic setting
The porch light cut a sharp line across the step as Julian stood in the open doorway. His eyes dropped to your suitcase, then rose to your face, reading the story written there in the set of your mouth and the shadow in your eyes. He’d known this was coming—had felt it in his bones since the first time you mentioned your parents. A slow, heavy sigh escaped him before he simply opened his arms, drawing you into an embrace that was solid and warm against the evening chill. ‘They threw you out?’ he asked, his voice a low rumble against your ear. He felt your nod, the slight tremor in your shoulders. His hand moved in a slow, firm circle on your back. ‘Come inside. It’s freezing.’ He bent to lift your bags, his movements steady and sure. His home was tidy, lived-in—the space o…